


partners in crime

by chashmish



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe, Boarding School, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 21:36:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14387616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chashmish/pseuds/chashmish
Summary: He’s constructed a hierarchy of small comforts: at the most insignificant, the nails he digs in to the palms of his hands when he can’t find his voice, then, slightly stronger, the bottles of dutifully-taken prescription pills in his room, after that, an old mainstay– the punching bag at the gymnasium that seems to call so enticingly for his frustration-relieving blows. But at the very top of the list is the most pleasant reprieve of them all, the sweetest mercy– Ren.Just the memory of him is enough to make this place bearable.





	partners in crime

It’s less difficult than Goro thought it would be to find the time to himself that this requires. Perhaps it’s because the rest of the time he tries so hard, picking smiles out of thin air and playing the model student. Whatever it is, no one notices or cares when once a week, he retreats to his room without letting a soul know what he’s doing.  

It’s supposed to be once a week, at least. Today marks three weeks since the last time, and Goro’s feeling anxiety choke him again, pressing at him from all sides, but he makes the effort to calm himself as he pulls out his phone. Ten minutes until six. _Almost, almost._

He makes his way back to his dorm, avoiding eyes and walking with a casual stride, the kind that gives the impression that he’s not particularly eager to get anywhere. He has to go through one of the oldest buildings here to do so, a well-known shortcut even if it isn’t well-loved.

 _Here_ is one of the only all-boy boarding schools in the country, highly-ranked, prestigious, inhabited solely by the most insufferable children of the elite. Goro’s here because it’s far away from everything, strategically isolated in the countryside; it makes him easy to hide away. He has meals, a good education, a roof over his head. It’s all just fine and lovely, considering the fact that he has nowhere else to go. And more than that, he can’t go anywhere. Because in this gilded cage, he’s under Shido’s thumb.

He’s constructed a hierarchy of small comforts: at the most insignificant, the nails he digs in to the palms of his hands when he can’t find his voice, then, slightly stronger, the bottles of dutifully-taken prescription pills in his room, after that, an old mainstay– the punching bag at the gymnasium that seems to call so enticingly for his frustration-relieving blows. But at the very top of the list is the most pleasant reprieve of them all, the sweetest mercy– Ren.

Just the memory of him is enough to make this place bearable.

He gets to his door and checks the time again. Five minutes until six. He has a roommate; a wholly irritating inconvenience, but he’s on the swim team, has practice three times a week at five-thirty; Goro knows he won’t be inside.

He unlocks the door, looks around vaguely at the room he knows well. It’s fine, livable, whatever– there’s only one thing about it that Goro deems of any significance, and it’s the fact that he lives on the first floor and the window opens.

It’s six o’clock by now. Goro bites his lip and seats himself at his desk, picks up a book from his stack in a valiant attempt to busy himself, to not drive himself crazy waiting.

But he’s so tired. His eyes are closing by the time he hears a _click_ and the sound of the window sliding open.

Goro’s awake in an instant, standing and turning towards the soft noise.

Into his room comes a thief, clad in dark colors as is his wont, rising up from the bleak outdoors, where night has already fallen, like a ghost from the grave. He deposits himself on Goro’s floor with caution and stands up straight before he looks up.

Goro only gets a quick look at Ren’s face before he sweeps downward in an exaggerated, gallant bow and only the mess of his curls is visible. “At your service.”

Ren barely gets the words out before Goro’s closed the space between them, crashing into Ren with more brute force than passion, linking his arms behind Ren’s back and holding fast even as Ren reacts with a surprised _oof._

It’s a little too forward, yes, but Goro doesn’t care, he doesn’t care, he’s too tired to care. Ren smells like cold autumn air and coffee. Goro clings to him like a man lost at sea would to the battered vestiges of his ship **,** shutting his eyes to heighten his other senses, seeing nothing, saying nothing, feeling everything.

“Hello to you, too,” he hears Ren’s voice say. He sounds fondly pleased.

Goro pulls away, just a little, until he’s looking Ren in his warm gray eyes. He’s just the same as he always is, that usual smirk morphing into a lopsided smile when he looks at Goro and cocks his head to the side, regarding him as if to ask _Well?_

But they stand there for another moment to take in the sight of each other before Goro says “You’re late.” He looks a little closer. “And you have a leaf in your hair.” He picks it out of Ren’s curls and crushes it between his fingers before reaching over to deposit it in his trash can.

Ren frowns up at his hair and bats at it like a cat would at a string. “I know. About being late, not the leaf. Sorry, I got held up trying to get through the front gate and had to go through the path in the woods. There were more security guys around than usual.”

Goro closes his eyes. All this, Ren does for him. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for? This is the most fun I get. It’s not like Yongen ever gets any more interesting. Anyway, I come with gifts.” Ren rummages in the pocket of his heavy coat until his hand comes up clenching a small bag, tied closed with a ribbon.

Goro reaches for the bag, but Ren pulls his arm back, holding it out of Goro’s reach. Goro frowns at him and squints at it. “Is that candy?”

“Chocolate. Coffee-flavored.” Ren beams.  
  
“They make that?”

“Apparently. Try one.” Ren pulls the ribbon on the bag loose, and reaches inside to pick out a piece.

Goro watches him unwrap it with a raised eyebrow. When he holds it up, Goro moves to take it again, but Ren shakes his head. “Say _aaahh_.”

“I– why?!”

“C’mon,” Ren croons.

“ _Ugh_ ,” Goro says instead, but he opens his mouth obligingly. Ren reaches over and places a square of chocolate on the center of his tongue.

Goro closes his mouth over it, chewing contemplatively. After most of it’s gone, he opens his mouth to say “It’s goo–”

Before he can finish Ren takes hold of his chin and kisses him, quickly enough to catch him off guard and deeply enough to make heat rise to his face.

“You’re right, it does taste good,” Ren says when he releases him, smiling cheekily.

Goro growls vengefully and pulls him backwards onto his bed.

They collapse onto the duvet in a tangle of limbs. Ren detaches himself gently to take off his jacket and shoes, sighing as he does.

Watching him, Goro reflects upon how blatant it is that Ren doesn’t belong here. His ripped jeans are a blatant violation of dress code, for one thing. His pierced ears are another.

But it’s more than just that. It’s the way he carries himself, like someone sure of himself, someone apart. He’s grown into his role as outcast comfortably, even though he's as much of a part of Yongen now as any law-abiding citizen. There’s nothing cocky about his attitude– most of the time– but he has a charismatic confidence that attracts and ensnares. It’s what drew Goro to him, that day he ventured into the small, sleepy town of Yongen-Jaya, when he still had the relative freedom to move around– when he was tired and angry and wanted nothing more than to escape– and found a coffee shop and a saving grace.

Noticing Goro’s gaze on him, Ren turns to him again and smiles. He kicks his coat off the bed and flops onto it again, holding out his arms for Goro. Goro scoots closer, tucks his face into the crook of Ren’s neck and splaying an arm across his chest, closing his eyes when Ren wraps his arm around Goro’s back protectively.

“Three whole weeks,” Ren murmurs.

“I know.” His fingers clench at the fabric of Ren’s shirt. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I just missed you.”

Goro sighs against Ren’s skin. “Not as much as I missed you.”  

“How has it been lately?”

Goro tells him. There’s not much to say. He has classes, he has his neverending research into Shido’s activities, he has the full range of extracurriculars the academy has to offer and the general disdain of the student body to occupy his time. No one knows he’s Shido’s spawn, but they see the people Shido’s assigned to keep tabs on him, the teachers that have been convinced or bribed and the sons of influential politicians who frown over at him, and that stokes suspicion. No one knows he’s Shido’s, so no one knows why he’s here, and that’s enough to turn suspicion into hostility.

But Goro’s used to all that, now.

“Do you need me to beat anyone up?” Ren asks.

Goro considers. “Not at the moment. Besides, I have more elegant ways to reach my ends.”

Ren grins. “You’re so hot when you say things like that.”

And then it’s Ren’s turn to share, and Goro hangs on to every word. He never thought he could care so much before this, never thought that the ins and outs of another person’s life would hold any appeal. But Ren adds color to his speech like he does to Goro’s life, and Goro wants nothing more than to hear him talk about Leblanc, about school, about the letter he got from his parents, about his friends.

Friends that get to see him whenever they’d like. It’s painful– to know that Goro has no such access. But he has this. It’s not enough, but it has to suffice.

“Futaba says hello, by the way,” Ren adds.

“How is she doing?”

“Still annoying me. Nah, she’s fine. She got in trouble at school for getting into the PA system, but no one can prove it was her so they can’t do anything.”

“Ah– that reminds me. If she’s interested, the computer lab here acquired some new materials I’d be able to borrow for her.”

“Oh, wow. Yeah, she’d love that. You’re giving her too much power, though. Soon she’ll turn to world domination.” Ren smiles at him. “Either that, or she’ll figure out how to invent teleportation and then you can come visit me every night.”

“I look forward to it.” Goro smiles back.

After a short while they’re lying with their foreheads pressed together. Halfway through absently stroking Goro’s face Ren stops short and says “Oh, yeah. Should I get a tongue piercing?”

Goro looks at him and gapes. “What brought this on?”

Rren shrugs. “I had an impulse.”

Goro shakes his head. “I’m not so sure how I feel about you putting metal in your mouth. You have enough elsewhere.” He reaches over to tug amicably at Ren’s earlobe, gently fingering the piercings there. He has two studs in his lobe and a hoop around the cartilage. Goro doesn’t pretend to understand it.

Ren allows him to manhandle him, but insists, “It makes me look cool, though.”

“It makes you look insolent,” Goro corrects.

Ren pouts. “You wound me.”  

“I never said I don’t like insolent.”

When Ren grins deviously Goro takes his face in his hands and brings their lips together.

So they make out for a while, the sharp heat of deferred desire behind it eventually turning into something soft and languid and slow. They indulge in the privilege of kissing, of losing themselves in each other, of pretending they have all the time in the world. Ren’s hands move to pull Goro as close to him as possible, and Goro can’t stop himself from sighing in contentment, relishing the security of his grip. It hurts, almost, to have his world overcome again by Ren’s scent, his touch, when Goro knows how long it will be before the absence of him is there once again to amplify the fondness in Goro’s heart, but it’s a sweet kind of pain.  

But suddenly, Ren pulls away, and before Goro can react he’s saying “Oh!” and digging through his pocket of his jeans. “I wanted to show you something.”

“Seriously?” Goro can still feel the ghost of Ren’s lips on his. He reaches up to touch his mouth as Ren takes no notice, scrolling through various screens in a quest to locate… something. Ren can send heat spreading through Goro’s whole body, make him feel more than he ever has, and then immediately get distracted by just the thought of what’s probably a cat video.

It’s a bird video, as it happens. Goro watches a crow solve some kind of block puzzle to obtain food.

“Fascinating,” Goro says.

“Reminded me of you!”

“And just why is that?’

“You’re smart. And you’re kinda like a bird.”

Goro hits him with a stare.

Ren shrugs and links his hands behind his head. “I can’t explain why. It’s just a feeling.”

Goro shakes his head before letting his face settle into expressionless territory. “If I were a bird, I could leave this place whenever I wanted.” It sounds pathetic even as it comes out of his mouth, and he frowns at how unbecoming of him it is.

“Hey.” Ren reaches for Goro’s hand and intertwines it in his before pulling it to the center of his chest. “You’re going to get out of here.” He hesitates. “And I know you don’t want me to tell anyone about–”

“No,” Goro says sharply. “Ren, I told you, I need to do this myself.”

“I know, but Goro, just– look at how many people that guy’s got on his side. You need people on your side too. Sojiro cares about you. He can try and help, if you let him.”

 _You’re enough_ , Goro thinks. If only Ren knew how much he’s helped Goro just by existing, how he makes Goro feel like he can do anything. It’s Ren, and in large part Goro’s own latent anger, his bitterness, that makes him willing to spend all the free time he can manage to scrape up paging through legal books and scouring for evidence. But there’s no way Goro’s yet found to tell Ren just how important he is, so he says nothing.

“Okay, let’s not talk about this.” Ren turns over on his side to look face-to-face at him again. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Like what?”

“Like where we’ll go when you get out of here.”

Goro’s still having to pace himself for hoping; it’s so easy to get carried away with Ren indulging him. He shoves aside visions of places he’s only read about in books or heard the boys here discussing vacations in, saying instead “Where would _you_ like to go?”

“Hmm.” Ren grins. “I want to see everything.”

“Everything?”

“Everything. With you, obviously.”

Goro smiles at that, but says “And just how do you plan to?”

Ren shrugs. “I’ll figure something out. First I’ll rob a bank.”

Goro smirks. “A sure strategy.”

“Right? And you could be my getaway driver.”

“So now I’m a part of your criminal fantasy?”

“You’re a part of _all_ my fantasies.”

Tragically, that actually makes Goro blush, but he avoids detection by kicking Ren hard in response and burying his face in Ren’s chest, ignoring his pointed “Ow!”

“So mean,” Ren sulks, but his hand comes up to card his fingers through Goro’s hair. Goro smiles slightly into Ren’s side, closing his eyes and focusing on Ren's careful touch.

“We’ll be partners in crime,” Ren says, his voice low. “Then no one could touch us. Especially not when I have you. You’re my good-luck charm.”

Goro can’t help but laugh, but it’s low and bitter, devoid of mirth. “I’m nobody’s luck.”

“Huh?” Ren feigns confusion. “But I just said you’re mine. And I’m somebody, so…”

Goro shakes his head in exasperation, but he doesn’t protest. Ren’s hands start to brush up his bangs, and when Goro looks up Ren presses a kiss to his forehead.

They lie there in silence for another short while, listening to each other breathe. And then somehow time slips away until it’s been an hour that Ren’s been in his room, and as much as Goro loathes it–

“I have to go now, don’t I?” Ren asks quietly.

Goro only nods, like abstaining from saying the truth will nullify it.  

Ren sighs and sits up slowly. His hair is even messier than usual now, and he runs a hand through it before swinging his feet onto the floor.

Goro presses his cheek against the pillow as he watches Ren put his jacket on again, his back to Goro. Then he gets up, too, and stands to face Ren.

They’re quiet for a moment before Goro speaks. “Ren, there’s…” Goro takes a breath. “There’s no need to worry about me. I know what I’m doing. I’m close to something, and if I…” He clenches his fist, unclenches it. This part will be hard. “If I find I require help, I won’t hesitate to ask.”

Relief seems to overtake Ren; his shoulders sag even as he stands up straighter. “You mean that?”

“I do. I… trust you. And Sojiro, and Futaba.”

“Good.” Ren laughs, a wild note of happiness in his voice. “Good. I’m glad.”

Goro steps closer, and when Ren holds out his hands he takes them in his own. Ren pulls him closer, gently, and kisses him one last time, chaste and final.

They stand there in each other’s arms for a moment before they mutually pull apart.

“I’ll see you soon,” Ren says quietly, looking at him intently.

“Message me when you return.”

“I will. Always do.” Ren smiles.

Goro walks over to the window with him, watches him unlatch it with practiced ease. Before he can climb through, Ren turns to him and says. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Trusting me. I won’t fuck it up.” And then he’s shoving his feet through the window, inelegant but effective, and shimmying to fit the rest of his body through until he’s deposited himself on the ground.

Now outside, and with his face shrouded by darkness that the light in Goro’s room can’t fully penetrate, he turns to look at Goro again.

“I love you,” Ren says.

Goro smiles a half-smile, leans closer to the sill. “I love you, too. Obviously.”

“Obviously,” Ren agrees, and turns to go.

Later that night when Ren texts him three times, once to confirm he’s back safely, once with a picture of Futaba sticking out her tongue, and another with a series of heart emojis long enough to fill his screen, Goro finds he doesn’t regret a thing.

**Author's Note:**

> lol sorry this is kind of a fuzzily defined AU it's just here bc I wanted an excuse to abuse tropes. also trying "ren" on for size for a change


End file.
